Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is standing by statements comparing an election loss for incumbent President Bush to a win for terrorist Osama bin Laden.

In remarks to a group of Republicans in Oklahoma last week, the former Republican National Committee chairman said "if George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election," according to a local newspaper. He went on to say "What do you think Hitler would have thought if Roosevelt would've lost the election in 1944? He would have thought American resolve was [weakening]."

Cole yesterday defended his remarks and said he wouldn't apologize. In an appearance on CNN's Inside Politics, he said he wasn't "saying a thing at all about John Kerry, a person, frankly, whom I respect, but disagree with quite profoundly."

"What I am saying is that at a time of war, if our commander in chief is defeated in election, our adversaries will regard that as a triumph. And I think without question, George Bush, who's led decisively, ably and, frankly, quite aggressively during this confrontation with terror, is somebody that Osama bin Laden does not want to see reelected," he said, according to the official transcript at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/04/ip.00.html. Cole's exchange is near the bottom.

Cole is a first-term Congressman.

Get the Story:
Okla. lawmaker denies using Hitler angle (AP 3/4)
In the Loop: Bin Laden on the Ballot? [see second item] (The Washington Post 3/5)
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Relevant Links:
Rep. Tom Cole - http://www.house.gov/cole